Unity House project begins

The Front Door resource center at North Central will help the community

Updated 10:41 pm, Friday, February 22, 2013

The Front Door at 2431 Sixth Ave. in Troy will be a new community resource center. (Unity House)

The Front Door at 2431 Sixth Ave. in Troy will be a new community resource center. (Unity House)

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The Front Door at 2431 Sixth Ave. in Troy, which will open in the fall, will be a new community resource center. (Unity House)

The Front Door at 2431 Sixth Ave. in Troy, which will open in the fall, will be a new community resource center. (Unity House)

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Public officials and supporters gather Thursday morning for groundbreaking ceremonies for a new $5.5 million building that will house services of Unity House in Troy's North Central neighborhood.

Public officials and supporters gather Thursday morning for groundbreaking ceremonies for a new $5.5 million building that will house services of Unity House in Troy's North Central neighborhood.

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An architect's rendering shows what the new Unity House building will look like. It replaces the nonprofit's thrift store and food pantry that previously occupied the site at Sixth Avenue and Hoosick Street in Troy. Those services have temporarily relocated to Unity House's original home at 309 Eighth St. in Troy. less

An architect's rendering shows what the new Unity House building will look like. It replaces the nonprofit's thrift store and food pantry that previously occupied the site at Sixth Avenue and Hoosick Street in ... more

Unity House project begins

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TROY — Unity House broke ground this week on a community resource center that is expected to help revive the North Central neighborhood.

"It will be a resource center for that community. It's right at the entryway to North Central on a bus line," Unity House CEO Chris Burke said in an interview.

The 36,000-square-foot facility will be called The Front Door. It's under construction at 2431 Sixth Ave.

"This is an incredible milestone for Unity House and all the volunteers who work tirelessly to make it one of the most important organizations in the area. Their contributions to residents and their value to our community simply cannot be measured," Mayor Lou Rosamilia said in a statement.

"The importance of The Front Door is twofold in that there will be a new 'one-stop visit' physical presence for those in need of assistance that is easily accessible and expansive in the services provided," said Assemblyman John T. McDonald III, D-Cohoes, in a statement.

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The city is undertaking several initiatives to improve the North Central neighborhood, which has some of the poorest areas in the city.

Burke said Unity House is pleased to be playing a role in helping the neighborhood. He said space will be available for community meetings and other functions.

About 2,500 families are expected to be served annually at The Front Door, Burke said. He estimated this would be at least 10,000 people.

The Front Door is expected to open in the fall. Burke said the building would cost $5.5 million to construct. He said that $4 million has been raised so far.